Pastor Rick Warren said Thursday that his son, Matthew, purchased an unregistered gun over the Internet. It was that weapon that he used to take his own life last week after years of battling mental illness. "Someone on the internet sold Matthew an unregistered gun. I pray he seeks God's forgiveness. I forgive him. #MATTHEW 6:15," Warren tweeted Thursday. The Orange County Sheriff's Department told the Associated Press it is trying to identify the seller, but the gun's serial number was unreadable, making it difficult to trace the firearm.

That's a harsh statement. I think that maybe Rick might be embellishing the circumstances of how his son was able to obtain the firearm that he used to take his life.

Could it be that the firearm actually belonged to Rick and he's trying to cover up that fact?

At this point, only Rick knows.........

But what IS certain, and can be verified by many members on this site, is how hard it is (if not impossible) to purchase a handgun over the internet without going thru a FFL dealer..........The fact that Rick claims his son was able to purchase a handgun via this avenue certainly sends up a lot of red flags about the truthfulness of Rick's statements......

Actually there is a website (not Gun Broker.com)that allows you to post firearms for sale. I have purchased a couple from people advertising there. One was a dealer, the other a deputy sheriff. I went to the dealer's shop to buy the weapon and met the deputy at a truck stop, where we exchanged information and I purchased the weapon. He showed me his badge and ID card and I showed him my CCW license. All above board. This could be what Warren is talking about. Technically you are not buying "over the Internet"; but you are buying from someone who advertised on a web page. My guess is, some are not as ethical as the deputy, I bought from. Just a thought.

Hey Rick, trust me I feel for you, losing a child is the worst thing in the world that can happen to a person, but STOP blaming the gun..your son had issues for years, in fact, didn’t he come right up to you and say “Dad, why can’t the pain go away, why can’t I just die already” HELLO, WARNING SIGN MUCH? don’t give me this BS about purchasing a gun online..this kid wanted to die for years, he could have jumped off a building or slit his throat, you blame the gun, you get the focus off of what was the REAL problem is, your son was mentally ill

I’ve always wondered, why couldn’t a ne’er-do-well stamp new numbers over the old numbers in the same manner as the original numbers were stamped, thereby leaving authorities unsure which stamp is the original? Or is that equipment unavailable to the general public? You’d think organized crime, at least, could grab hold of it. Or is it simply not worth the trouble, and the stamps don’t mean much if you’re the tenth person, or whatever, down the line to possess the gun?

The FBI has had the ability to read serial numbers that have been ground off with a power grinder, based on the metal deformation in the metal by the number stamps. And they've had that ability for years.

Yep. But what's scary is that anybody gives a rat's ass what the serial number is on a freaking shotgun!?! Maybe it's the same shotgun my Dad carried over his shoulder when he was 12 and walked down his neighborhood street to Pennypack Park to hunt, as passing drivers beeped their horns and waved.

What makes Warren so scary is that he actually believes his own patter, and so do a lot of so-called "conservatives" who are in his Church. That's their idea of being "Christian." Read his "Purpose Driven Life." At bottom, cold and calculating.

It's a showy, ostentatious version of Christianity with a leftist tinge of do-gooder superiority.

There is no firearm registration requirement in California except for assault weapon owners and personal handgun importers. However, you may submit a Firearm Ownership Record to the DOJ for any firearm you own. Having a Firearm Ownership Record on file with the DOJ may help in the return of your firearm if it is lost or stolen. With very few and specific exceptions, all firearm transactions must be conducted through a firearms dealer.

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